Posts for: December, 2015

Children’s ailments come and go, and thankfully most are relatively minor. Some children, however, have impaired health caused by a more serious, chronic disease. For them, the condition impacts not only their overall well-being, but also their dental health.

This often occurs because the specific healthcare needs of children with these chronic conditions are given greater priority over dental health. Besides the treatment focus, children with special healthcare needs may have physical, mental or behavioral limitations that can make it difficult to keep up with oral hygiene and care.

Children with autism or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have a difficult time practicing (or cooperating with) oral hygiene tasks. Some may not have the physical ability to perform effective brushing and flossing without assistance. In these cases, it’s important for parents or caregivers to seek out instruction and training that will optimize their children’s hygiene and so reduce the chance of dental disease.

Certain medications for chronic conditions can increase mouth dryness, or they’re acidic or sweetened with sugar, any of which can increase the child’s risk for tooth decay or periodontal (gum) disease. Parents or caregivers should consult with their physicians about these medications or if they could be administered at mealtime to minimize their effect on the mouth.

Finally, there’s the direct effect some conditions may have on a child’s teeth and gums. Children with severe gag reflexes due to their condition may not be able to tolerate toothpaste or be able to spit it out completely. Other conditions can give rise to dental defects such as enamel hypoplasia in which not enough enamel develops to adequately protect the teeth.Â Such defects call for special dental attention and closer monitoring of teeth and gum health.

The key is to see us and the other healthcare providers for your child’s chronic condition as part of an overall team. Sharing information and regarding both dental and general care as part of a comprehensive strategy will help to prevent dental problems from developing and improve their health.

Did you see the move Cast Away starring Tom Hanks? If so, you probably remember the scene where Hanks, stranded on a remote island, knocks out his own abscessed tooth — with an ice skate, no less — to stop the pain. Recently, Dear Doctor TV interviewed Gary Archer, the dental technician who created that special effect and many others.

“They wanted to have an abscess above the tooth with all sorts of gunk and pus and stuff coming out of it,” Archer explained. “I met with Tom and I took impressions [of his mouth] and we came up with this wonderful little piece. It just slipped over his own natural teeth.” The actor could flick it out with his lower tooth when the time was right during the scene. It ended up looking so real that, as Archer said, “it was not for the easily squeamish!”

That’s for sure. But neither is a real abscess, which is an infection that becomes sealed off beneath the gum line. An abscess may result from a trapped piece of food, uncontrolled periodontal (gum) disease, or even an infection deep inside a tooth that has spread to adjacent periodontal tissues. In any case, the condition can cause intense pain due to the pressure that builds up in the pus-filled sac. Prompt treatment is required to relieve the pain, keep the infection from spreading to other areas of the face (or even elsewhere in the body), and prevent tooth loss.

Treatment involves draining the abscess, which usually stops the pain immediately, and then controlling the infection and removing its cause. This may require antibiotics and any of several in-office dental procedures, including gum surgery, a root canal, or a tooth extraction. But if you do have a tooth that can’t be saved, we promise we won’t remove it with an ice skate!

The best way to prevent an abscess from forming in the first place is to practice conscientious oral hygiene. By brushing your teeth twice each day for two minutes, and flossing at least once a day, you will go a long way towards keeping harmful oral bacteria from thriving in your mouth.

Many people with diabetes are hesitant about getting dental implants because they’re under the impression their chances of failure are greater than for non-diabetics. But if you’re one of the 26 million Americans with diabetes, that isn’t necessarily so — with a little extra precaution before, during and after implant surgery.

Diabetes is a group of diseases that affect how the body processes glucose. This simple sugar is used by the body to provide energy to cells, but can also cause damage if its volume level in the bloodstream is too high. The body normally regulates this through the hormone insulin produced by the pancreas.

The pancreas in people with Type 1 diabetes doesn’t produce insulin and so they must receive an outside source of the hormone through daily injections with careful daily monitoring of glucose levels. Those with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, don’t produce a sufficient amount of insulin or the body no longer responds to the insulin produced. For either type, abnormal glucose levels — either too high or too low — can have adverse affects on the body, including blindness, nerve damage, gangrene, coma or death.

Diabetes can also slow wound healing, increase the risk of infection, and alter the body’s inflammatory response, all of which are major concerns when placing implants. Because implant placement involves minor surgery in which a wound results, there’s been wide concern that a slower healing process could increase the risk of implant failure.

Recent studies, though, are encouraging especially for patients who have their diabetes under control through medication, diet and exercise. Patients with poor glucose control are at higher risk, because it can take longer for the bone to heal around an implant after placement. For such individuals special considerations to guard against infection may be needed during implant surgery.

In fact, the implant success rate for most diabetics is about the same as for non-diabetic patients, 95%. With proper disease management and a little extra wound care, you can be among the many that experience a favorable outcome and a more attractive smile with dental implants.

Find out the reasons why you should visit your McKinney family dentist before the year ends.

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are soon approaching and before you know it we will be ringing in the New Year. But before all this happens it might be the best time for the whole family to visit their McKinney, TX dentist Dr. Kenneth Sharp one last time. Find out why...

Your Benefits Will Expire

For many of our insured patients their dental insurance lasts the whole calendar year, which means that your deductible will start all over again come the New Year. Therefore, if you want to save the most money for your family’s next dental visit in McKinney then you’ll want to do that now. If you wait you may be paying out-of-pocket to get the whole family’s smiles cleaned.

Protect Your Smile

It’s no real surprise that with the holidays comes all sorts of treats and desserts, which can cause some serious issues for your smile if you don’t maintain good oral hygiene. No one wants to deal with invasive dental treatments to fix preventable dental problems. By seeing your dentist in McKinney every six months you can protect your oral health.

Keep Pearly Whites Whiter

With the holiday season upon us there are a lot of events and parties to go to that may have you focused on your appearance. Maybe your goal is to achieve a healthy, radiant smile. If you are noticing that your smile could use a little whitening boost then now is the perfect time to talk to us about in-office whitening, which can make teeth several shades whiter in just one hour.

Give your family the gift of a healthy smile this holiday season. If it’s time for their next cleaning call Stonebridge Ranch Smiles today. Start the New Year off with a beautiful smile.